The Beatles Bible - Topic: Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

minime on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:38:28 +0100

I think John's songs are inseparable with his performances. Songs like "Happiness is a warm gun", "9#" or "I'll be back"; you can try to copy his singing style but it won't work out. Most of the melodies he has written aren't very "hummable", or melodic, like most of Paul's output; it may deem them harder to memorize for some people but more importantly, harder to reproduce since the beauty of them (in my opinion) is the way John arranges his songs, sings his lyrics. And I do think he was a talented lyricist. His and Paul's opinion couldn't be ...

kelicopter on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:28:09 +0100

Ben Ramon said
The best songwriter in the Beatles is "Lennon-McCartney".

Yeah, basically. When I think about the fact that my top three Beatles songs were primarily written by John (Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Across The Universe, A Day In The Life) and I have more of John's solo work than Paul or any of the others, it makes me kind of want to say John.
But they brought out the best in each other, and they both needed that kind of partnership / rivalry when writing to produce the amazing work that they did.

Ben Ramon on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:18:00 +0100

I can't answer this question. The best songwriter in the Beatles is "Lennon-McCartney". To argue which of them is better is to devalue the fact that they were as good as they were because they worked together. That said, I feel John's lyrics were better, and Paul was the superior musician and singer.

BornInThe80s on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:19:53 +0100

I haven't read the entire discussion yet so forgive me if I repeat things that have previously been said.

This question is hard because it depends on my mood. Lyrically Lennon all the way but Paul's melodies are amazing. Although, early on Lennon dominated in that department. I love George because we saw him grow as a songwriter.

It's funny because before I even became a Beatles fan I knew about Lennon/McCartney and I was surprised to see how there was a battle between them (and the fans at that). Early on John, imo, wrote the better songs. I find myself listening ...

AdmiralHalsey on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:54:49 +0100

Well, I think that even though Paul's writing was much more tune-based, while John's was very lyrical, they were both such excellent songwriters that there was a lot of overlap in the style of their music. There are completely extreme examples for both songwriters, but often the songs they write are so good in both a lyrical and musical sense that they can sound similar... Does that make sense? I think I've started talking in circles...

mr. Sun king coming together on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:05:07 +0100

They really weren't. Helper Skelter is very close to Monkey, Good Night and Golden Slumbers, Bathroom Window and PPam, and others all sound similar, and no combo was written by the same person.

AllyouneedisJohn on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:59:21 +0100

Also, John and Paul were two different people song writing wise. towards the end at least. Like a day in the life. Johns part is all dark and what ever then paul's is "woke up, got out of bed.." so we kind of get the best of both worlds. when i say best i mean it. I fricken love both of them

AllyouneedisJohn on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:33:37 +0100

McLennonSon said:

AllyouneedisJohn said:

I would say paul has written some of the best and well known songs of all time. But I feel like Johns might have been a little different, seeing all that he went through when he was a boy. And then theres George. Totally underrated. Maybe we would have seen some more great stuff from him if Paul and John would let it happen. They are all great

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GniknuS on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:10:48 +0100

What do you mean, just melody? Paul has a lot of hum-able (word?) songs. Mother Nature's Son stands when he is just going do do do do... I really think most great Beatles tunes would stand on their own, I saw a band called Harpnotic play the Norwegian Wood melody with just a harp and a bass and it was absolutely beautiful.
I'm back and forth about this though, I think I have more respect for Paul but I still tend to like John's songs better.

MeanMrsMustard on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:24:43 +0100

Well, GniknuS said that John was better at writing songs that could stand on their own as poetry. Stuff like "Across the Universe" and "Strawberry Fields Forever." Maybe Paul was better at writing things that could stand on their own with no words. Nothing's really coming to mind, though. The first thing I thought of was "She's Leaving Home."

McLennonSon on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:05:05 +0100

AllyouneedisJohn said:

I would say paul has written some of the best and well known songs of all time. But I feel like Johns might have been a little different, seeing all that he went through when he was a boy. And then theres George. Totally underrated. Maybe we would have seen some more great stuff from him if Paul and John would let it happen. They are all great

Beacause you are new... I think that must be the MOST AWESOMEST POST EVA!!!

mr. Sun king coming together on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:59:12 +0100

Paul was/is a much better lyricist then he thinks he is. Remember this quote from Lennon: Paul is quite a capable lyricist who doesn't think he is.

And now look at Eleanor Rigby. Almost all the lyrics are Paul, and those are one of the best lyrics ever.

mithveaen on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:54:06 +0100

GniknuS said:

It's best to be honest about these things.

Re-rail, mith, in response to Across the Universe, I guess what I mean is that nothing of Paul's looks as clever as that song on a piece of paper, at least to me. ATU just has some really fantastic metaphors, "pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind, possessing and caressing me…" what a line! I read a book on musical hallucinations and it sounds like that happened to John, the words just came to him and he doesn't 'own them.' That's ...

AllyouneedisJohn on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:56:17 +0100

I would say paul has written some of the best and well known songs of all time. But I feel like Johns might have been a little different, seeing all that he went through when he was a boy. And then theres George. Totally underrated. Maybe we would have seen some more great stuff from him if Paul and John would let it happen. They are all great

GniknuS on Who do you think was the better songwriter of the Beatles?

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:59:33 +0100

It's best to be honest about these things.

Re-rail, mith, in response to Across the Universe, I guess what I mean is that nothing of Paul's looks as clever as that song on a piece of paper, at least to me. ATU just has some really fantastic metaphors, "pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind, possessing and caressing me…" what a line! I read a book on musical hallucinations and it sounds like that happened to John, the words just came to him and he doesn't 'own them.' That's pure inspiration, ...